With a wealth of information available to vehicle computing systems through connected, brought-in devices, vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEM)s are constantly seeking ways to utilize the information to improve the driving experience. Playlists from mobile devices, occupant phone contact information, even instant alerts for an incoming text message are all being made available to occupants through a user interface.
Some in-vehicle systems even use occupant biometric information to track occupant health. In this case, the occupants themselves function as the brought-in device, carrying internal biometric information into a vehicle. Information can be extracted and utilized via installed in-vehicle biometric sensors such as heart rate sensors in a steering wheel or in a seat.
While the information gathered from such sensors is potentially useful for occupant health feedback and reporting during an accident, it costs a significant amount of money to install such sensors in a vehicle. Further, if the occupant is left in a position post-crash that leaves the steering wheel out of reach or the occupant is no longer in proper contact with the seat based sensor (or if the sensors are damaged), the system cannot gather present information, and must rely on previously collected information. First responders would, of course, prefer up-to-date information, since an indication that an occupant pulse was normal prior to a crash gives virtually no information about the current state of the occupant following the crash, and what kind of treatment may be needed.